safekeeper
Formed in Fort Collins, Colorado in February 2018, safekeeper is the melancholy brainchild of childhood friends Zachary Visconti and Matt Scorca. The self-proclaimed “slacker rockers” are characterized by dynamic guitar-driven rock songs, often drawing comparisons to 90s-era alternative bands like early Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, Pavement and Slint.
In December 2018, safekeeper released its debut EP, "on sludge summit." The 5-track EP features loud, abrasive song interludes and seemingly drunken yawls, riding a meandering line between gloomy and carefree. Self-recorded in Visconti’s duplex living room at the time, the release features field recordings, long noisy guitar and drum sequences and a broad swath of lyrics commenting on everyday life.
The band released a follow-up EP entitled "bummer beach bonanza" in March of 2020. Clocking in at just 18 minutes, the 5-song sophomore effort offers a subtle lyrical sequel to “on sludge summit,” touching on themes of mental health, western society and climate change, through fuzzy, winding lo-fi songs. The release featured the blistering garage track “you’re all small,” for which the band also released a music video starring Nick Holland, as directed by the band’s own guitarist Ben Ward.
In 2022, safekeeper released a pair of short albums called "the gravity between two celestial bodies" and "the space between two celestial bodies." Capturing feelings of isolation and introspection amidst the early COVID-19 pandemic, "gravity" and "space" offer sonically opposing, yet intertwined peeks into the things that drive humans together and the space between all of us that can seemingly never be fully overcome. The two-part release includes the addition of synthesizer on a number of tracks, along with an intermittent series of ambient interludes against a backdrop of outer space-set anthems.
safekeeper followed up with the single “halloweekend” in 2023, set to be part of an upcoming album.